Bridle-bit



(No Model.)-

H; T. SEELEY.

BRIDLE- BIT.

No. 413,736. Patented Oct. 29. 1889.

n. PETERS. Photo-Wwgnpher. Wmhingmn, 0.0.

which lugs are adapted to receive therein the UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

HIRAM T. SEELEY, RIPON, VISCONSIN.

ABRIDLVE-BIT.

' srncrrrcnrrorr forming part of Letters Patent Lie 413,736, datedOctober 29, 1889. Application filed May 6, 1889. Serial No.309,'734. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HIRAM T. SEELEY, of Ripon, in the county of FondduLac and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements inBridle-Bits; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of said invention,reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and

to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon,which form apartof this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a bit which,under a certainlimited pull on the reins,will bear only on the teeth or mouth, and thatunder a greater and extraordinary pull on the reins will throw twoclamping-arms onto the nostrils and against the outer walls thereof,whereby the horse is more effectually controlled.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of my device. Fig. 2 isan end view of the same device, the outerside of the casebeing removedto show interior parts. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on line XX of Fig. 1,looking downwardly, the part being reversed to the positionit has in Fig. 1, and the clamping-arm being thrown down in the positionshown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The bar A is a metal rod, and is the part that enters and passeslaterally through the mouth of the horse. On each end of this bar issupported loosely a case B. The case is retained on the bar A by meansof a washer C I on the outer end of the bar A,which is secured thereonby the upsetting of the'endof the bar or other equivalent means. Withinthe chamber in the ease Bis a head-piece D, which is secured removablyon a square-faced part of the bar A, so that the head-piece rotates withthe bar A. The cases B B are each provided with a" lug or cheek-piece E,having a slot,

side piece of the bridle,whereby the bit is supported and retained inthe mouth of the horse. A clamping-arm F is hinged on the head-piece Din such manner as to permit lateral oscillation, and the clamping-armextends outwardly and upwardly through aslot G in the periphcry of thecase B. The walls III-I of the slot G are so inclined as to formcams,whereby, as the bar A is rotated to the extent of something lessthan a quarter of one revolution,

wardly and inwardly the bearing-rings will be brought against the outerwalls of the nostrils. A spring K in the chamber in the case B is fixedat one end in the wall of the case and at the other end is secured tothe head-piece D, and this spring is adapted to hold the arm Fyieldingly upward in the position shown in Fig. 1. A draw-bar L, hingedto the head-piece D, passes out through a slot in the periphery of thecase B, and at its outer end is provided with a slot for receivingtherein the end of a rein. The case B is preferably made in two partssecured together by rivets at M M M.

The springs K K aremade of such strength as to resist a certain amountof pull on the reinssay about twenty pounds on both reinsand when anadditional force is applied the springs will yield and the clampingarmsF F will be thrown downwardly and inwardlyagainst the walls of thenostrils, as bebefore stated, and on the release of the pull to a pointbelow the strength of the springs the recoil of the springs will carrythe arms back again into the position shown in Fig. 1.

The cases B B are held in a nearly constant and upright position by thebridle-straps in the lugs G G while the bar A is in the mouth of thehorse, and the pull on the draw-bars L L, if greater than the strengthof the springs K K, will rotate the bar A with reference to the casessufficiently to move the clampingarnisF F through the segment of an arcindicated in Fig. 2 by the position of the clamping-arm F, and itsposition indicated by the dotted lines N.

It will be understood that the value and use of this bit are in the factthat under an ordinary pull on the reins on the bit the horse iscontrolled by the bit alone, and that under a greater pull on the reinsthe clamping-arms are thrown down on the walls of the nostrils,

whereby the horse is caught in a more sensitive locality, and is therebymore surely and eifectually controlled.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A bridle-bit consisting of a bar adapted to pass through the mouth ofa horse, and on each end thereof a movable case having therein ahead-piece on the bar, to which headpiece is pivoted a clamping-arm, adraw-bar, and a spring, the case being provided with an inclined slot,the walls of which are-adapted to act as cams on the clamping-arm,substantially as described.

2. A bridle-bit consisting of a bar A and the thereon rotating cases BB, in combination with head-pieces D D, removably secured on the bar A,clamping-arms F F, hinged on the head-pieces D D, bearing against theinclined walls H H of slots G G, springs K K, fixed in the cases B B andconnected to the head-pieces D D, and means, substantially as described,for rotating the head-pieces, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In abridle-bit, clamping-arms F F,hin ged on head-pieces D D, securedon and rotating with a bar A, in combination with cases B B, loose onthe bar A and inclosing the headpieces, and cams in the periphery of thecases, against which the clamping-arms bear and are moved laterally whenthe bit and clampin g-arms are rotated, and means, substantially asdescribed, for rotating the clamping-arms with reference to the cases,as and for the purpose set forth.

